The King of Pirates
by Ruffles and Feathers
Summary: The Marauders are the best spies in England. It's up to them to find and catch the self-proclaimed King of Pirates; the man looking to overthrow the crown and take it for himself.
1. Chapter 1

The King of Pirates

Chapter One

**Disclaimer: **Storyline is mine, all the characters you recognise belong to JK Rowling.

* * *

The Marauders are the best spies in England. It's up to them to find and catch the self-proclaimed King of Pirates; the man looking to overthrow the crown and take it for himself.

* * *

The man stood on the deck of his ship, watching the terror and chaos unfolding in front of him. Fire licked it's way across the deck of the other ship, pushed and pulled along by strong winds and oil accidentally spilt in the fight. It followed the screams of terror from those unfortunate enough to be left behind.

The ship was nothing of importance to the man; there was no treasure or gold to be found, no important national secrets hidden on board. This attack had been about nothing but terrorizing it's inhabitants. Reminding the men on board, and those that find their remains, that this man was the one who ruled the ocean, who was the King of the Seven Seas.

The heat from the flames could be felt from his own ship, the orange reflecting itself on the mans pale white skin and within his deep red eyes.

These features are what took the form of monsters that scared children as they lay in bed at night.

As recently as nine months ago, these were the most distinct features the man held, until a battle that left one man dead and the other without a nose. Because of this battle the man had disappeared for a time, some had hoped forever. But he was back, tougher and more ruthless than before. This time there would be nothing stopping him from getting what he wanted: the throne.

Dark black smoke curled up into the sky, disappearing into the inky blackness of the night. It won't be until morning that the inhabitants of the nearby town saw the destruction that had happened not a mile from where they slept peacefully.

As silently as a snake the man and his crew sailed away, waiting for the right moment to strike.

* * *

The funeral procession made it way silently through the quiet seaside village in the early morning hours, the sun beginning to peek over the hills ahead. A sharp frost caused those in the procession to pull their cloaks closer to their bodies to preserve as much heat as they could.

Muffled sobs could be heard towards the front of the small group. A tall woman, no more than twenty, with long blonde hair that reached halfway down her back, followed the men carrying the casket to the cemetery located at the top of the hill. She was dressed all in black and walked slowly, her face buried in her hands, surrounded by four men also dressed in plain black clothes, the looks on unspeakable grief clear on all their faces.

The tallest of these men, with messy brown hair, walked on the right side of this woman, his face grim with grief, his brown eyes glassy as he followed the men carrying the casket without seeing any of his surroundings.

Another man stood beside the woman, on her left side. This man was nearly as tall as the other, but instead had longer black hair and grey eyes that couldn't hide the anger within them. It was this man who held his arm around the woman's shoulders for support.

Two other men followed behind the trio, the taller of these two had light brown hair and walked with a weary look, as though the weight of the world was on his shoulders. The last man was the shortest, with mousy brown hair and a long nose that twitched at every sound. He stared at the back of the tall man with messy brown hair, his expression full of conflicting emotions; grief, anger, fear and sadness.

The men carrying the wooden casket reached the top of the hill in no time at all, barely puffed out from the steep walk and having to carry the casket. The reason for this being that there was nothing in the casket, something that only added to the grief of those attending the funeral.

There was nothing in the casket because there had been nothing left of the man who was a father to one beautiful daughter, mentor to four men who had desperately needed guidance, the head of the Kings personal spy service. The man who had fought the self-proclaimed King of Pirates.

Though no remains had been found of this man, there was no doubting he had fought a hard battle with the King of Pirates, and lost. It had been nine months since this man had last been seen, and it was only now that the woman had given in to rumours and despair that her father wasn't coming back that the funeral had taken place.

The funeral was quick, with a few words spoken on behalf of those closest to him. Anything they themselves wanted to say would be said later as they worked through their grief. Before long the only people left at the graveside was the four men and the woman.

No one said anything for a moment before the woman spoke up.

"When are you leaving?"

None of the men denied it; they had their orders and it had been only a matter of time before they were called back.

"Tomorrow morning," the man with light brown hair replied.

She didn't say anything, but finally looked up, staring at each of the men in turn. The knowledge that she had lost a father, and that she will most likely loose these men too, did nothing to stop the ache in her chest.

"Where will you go?"

The man with black hair replied this time.

"London. The King's arranged a ship and crew for us, we leave in three days time."

"To look for him."

She didn't ask, she knew what their mission would be. The King of Pirates had killed the head of the King's personal spy service; he wasn't about to let that go unpunished. The woman felt only anger at the King, the man she saw as having sent her father on a suicide mission. Her father had only meant to find out information regarding the King of Pirates, but had become entangled in the chaos and terror this man had created. He had become obsessed with finding out everything there was to know about him; knowing his aliases, who was on his crew, who he had placed within the King's own court to try and find others sympathetic to his cause, and if they weren't sympathetic then to find something to blackmail them with; all of which led to her father leaving on one last voyage to catch this man. A voyage that had only ended in disaster.

Even though she was angry at him she knew it wasn't the King's fault, her father was only meant to find out information about this man, and then later to apprehend him. It had been someone within the court who had tipped the King of Pirates off. It was this person that she wished with her entire being to find and make pay for their crimes.

The man with messy brown hair nodded.

"We're going to pick up where your father left off, start with trying to find as much information as we can on this man, then make him pay for what he did to your father."

He reached out and put his hand on her arm, and she could feel tears welling up again.

"We only know one other thing about this man."

"What's that?" She choked out.

"He also calls himself Lord Voldemort."

* * *

Thoughts so far? Please review :)


	2. Chapter 2

The King of Pirates

~ Chapter Two ~

**Disclaimer: **Storyline is mine, all the characters you recognise belong to JK Rowling.

* * *

The Marauders are the best spies in England. It's up to them to find and catch the self-proclaimed King of Pirates; the man looking to overthrow the crown and take it for himself.

* * *

_Ten months later_

Lily surveyed the crowded ballroom in front of her. This was the biggest ball of the year, the ball that signaled the beginning of London's season. The large room was not even close to being full, but the flow of people arriving had not slowed and was unlikely too for another few hours.

She stood watching the crowd from the side of the ballroom. Men and women in their finest evening gear stood together in small groups around the side of the dance floor, sharing the latest gossip that kept their lives entertaining.

This wasn't her sort of scene. Lily even had a feeling that she was probably the gossip some of them were talking about, judging from the looks she had received when she'd turned up. Well partly due to just turning up, but most likely due to the rumours surrounding her parents' disappearance. She wouldn't have even been here if her grandmother hadn't insisted that she attend. Lily knew that the only reason her family even received invitations to these balls was more because of her grandmothers remarriage to the Duke of Hainsworth than their place in society. The fact that her father was the owner of a shipping company wasn't anything to boast about in these rooms.

Lily's hands clenched around the handkerchief she held in her hands, remembering the shock she had received upon hearing that her parents were missing, and then returning home from Bath to find her fathers cousin, who had been staying with them, gone and her grandmother having taken up residence in their house. She had only been gone two weeks before she had received news that the ship her parents were on had sunk off the coast of Asia after a freak storm. Though she had heard rumours that the sinking had been partially helped by a pirate attack.

They had been declared dead and Lily had been summoned back to London to help with arranging her family's estate. Due to the Will her father had left and the fact that her sister and her sisters new husband had forfeited any claim to their fathers business, everything was to go to her cousin. But according to her grandmother he too seems to have become a victim of some crime and had gone missing not long after word of her parents had arrived back in London.

Lily didn't know what to do. Her fathers business was to stay in the family, and would be looked after by some state appointed advisors until either her cousin returns or she was married off.

Her grandmother seemed very keen for the latter to happen.

_Which is how I've found myself here_, Lily thought bitterly.

She didn't believe for one second her fathers boat had been sunk due to a storm. Her father made the best boats in the whole of England, something as insignificant as a storm would have been like a fly on the back of a beast. She didn't believe either that her cousin had been victim of any crime. Lily had heard her parents talking in hushed voices about her fathers' mother, questioning her loyalty to the King, and her fondness instead for the man who coveted the crown.

Lily felt for sure that her cousin was still alive and that her grandmother had something to do with his disappearance.

With one final glance around the room Lily turned back to her companion for the evening, her mothers close friend Mrs. Bones.

"Lily, please don't stay over there all evening and leave me to fend for myself in this pool of piranhas."

Her companions voice trailed off towards the end of the sentence, lest anyone nearby overhear. As full as the room was Lily was quite confident that no one nearby was paying much attention to what they were saying, but one could never be too careful.

Mrs. Bones looked up as Lily approached the table she had managed to find, one of the few situated around the edge of the room. Lily knew from past experience that these sort of events made Mrs. Bones feel uncomfortable, more so than what they made her. But having someone she knew nearby had always been a comfort to Lily. Even though Mrs. Bones was her mothers' friend, Lily had known her from when she was a toddler. She had been there to help look after Lily when her parents were busy building up her fathers business.

"I'd rather we just went home," Lily muttered.

"Oh hush," Mrs. Bones said as Lily stood next to her, looking over her shoulder at the dance card she had been instructed to use. "The sooner you do your duty the sooner we can both be out of here."

Lily was about to respond when a slight shadow fell over the table, causing the two bickering girls to look up in apprehension, worried that someone may have overheard their earlier comments.

"Ehem."

For a moment Lily didn't see anything, so used to looking up for people that it took her a moment to instead look down at the old woman in front of her.

"Good evening Miss Figg," Mrs. Bones said and inclined her head to the older woman.

"Good evening dears" the old woman replied in a distracted tone as Lily gave her a quick curtsy. "Shouldn't you be out there looking for a potential husband?"

She directed the comment at Lily who winced, marriage was the furthest thing from her mind at that moment, and was about to respond when Mrs. Bones jumped in.

"I'm afraid that none of Lily's dance partners have arrived yet." Mrs. Bones indicated toward the little card on the table. "And the band is still getting ready to begin."

Before Mrs. Bones could say anything further, Miss Figg settled into the seat across from her, turning her back on the ballroom and focusing all her attention on the poor woman.

Lily cleared her throat and straightened up, placing a hand on Mrs. Bones shoulder to get her attention.

"I've just seen someone I should say hello too," she directed the comment towards Miss Figg. "I'll come back a bit later."

Lily gave Mrs. Bones shoulder a quick squeeze and, ignoring the glare the poor woman shot her way, began to weave her way through the crowd of people that had appeared near their table.

She had lied. There wasn't a soul in this room that Lily recognised, so she instead forced herself to walk slowly around the edge of the dance floor. One thing that Miss Figg hadn't picked up on when Mrs. Bones had indicated the dance card was just how empty the card had been. There wasn't anyone here who wished to dance with Lily. Not because she wasn't pretty, she was prettier than most of the girls in the room, but more because of her family.

Her family wasn't from the same part of town as the rest of the people in this room. This may be the biggest ball of the year, for those rich enough to attend, but to the part of town that she herself came from, no one there would ever dream of attending a function like this, let alone finding a husband.

She was lucky enough (or unlucky enough depending who you asked) that those attending that night even knew who she was; but that had more to do with her grandmother and her parents' tragic deaths than anything.

Lily had only taken a few steps before she found her pathway blocked by a tall figure in black. She stopped quickly so as to not run into him and looked up to see who it was who was blocking her way. Her heart jumped into her throat and she quickly dropped into a curtsy.

"Lord Malfoy," she stammered. She knew he was meant to be there that night, her grandmother had informed her that evening before she left, telling her that she must make a good impression on the man, but she hadn't expected to see him to early in the evening. She had met him only once times before, a couple of years back when her grandmother remarried, and though he was only a few years her senior she had always found herself feeling intimated by him.

"Miss Evans." He nodded his head in her general direction, looking down his nose at the smaller girl. "I'm surprised to see you here this evening. I didn't think this was your sort of... scene."

Lily pressed her lips together, ignoring the obvious dig at her background.

"Grandmother asked that I come and give her greetings in her place as she is unwell." Lily didn't find it necessary to also point out that she had been instructed by her grandmother to dance with this man.

Lord Malfoy nodded, not paying any attention to what she was saying, she could tell, as she followed his gaze around the room. She could see across the room that they had begun bringing out refreshments.

"I was told by my father to dance with you tonight."

Lily snapped her eyes back up to him, dismayed to find that he too had been told the same thing she had. _Why on earth did he say he was surprised to see me,_ she wondered.

"Oh... grandmother had mentioned something along those lines," she mumbled.

"It's too early to dance," he stated, holding an arm out to her. She suppressed the urge to shudder and she placed her hand in the crook of his arm. "I don't want to be here too long tonight, so shall we take a walk around the room? The band should be all set up by then, and we can get all the necessities out the way so that I can leave."

Lily didn't reply and instead let herself be led slowly around the room.

What might have been a much quicker walk by herself took a lot longer than intended as Lord Malfoy stopped at ever group along the way, something which Lily was able to take advantage of to pass along her grandmothers best wishes to those that she recognised only by sight. By the time they passed the refreshments table Lily was dying of thirst, but could not think of anyway of interrupting to request one.

On they continued until they had completed half a lap of the room, and had just passed the entrance when a hush seemed to descend over the crowd. It took her a moment to realise what had caught everyone's attention. She turned away from the gentleman Lord Malfoy was conversing with and looked back the way they had come, watching the two figures in the doorway step into the room.

The tall man in the lead turned and smiled his thanks to what Lily could only describe as shocked hosts, reaching a hand up to smooth his long black hair and handing his coat to the fumbling servant by his side.

It was the man beside him that Lily couldn't tear her eyes from; she could feel her cheeks heating up as all sorts of images flitted about in her head. He was taller than the first man, with broad shoulders and shorter brown hair that seemed to have a life of its own. The hair at the back of his neck just brushed the collar of the grey coat that he was shrugging off and handing to the servant that had taken the other mans coat. She couldn't tell from where she stood what colour eyes he had, but his skin was pale, with high cheekbones and a strong jawline. His outfit did nothing to hide the lean muscles that moved underneath, and Lily could have sworn she heard a ripple of sighs pass through the room.

"Well, what do we have here?" Lord Malfoy appeared behind her, a hand on her elbow to get her attention, but there was no hope. The two men turned from greeting the hosts and surveyed the crowd in front of them.

Lily's heart leapt up and lodged itself in her throat as dark eyes latching onto hers. She could see now that he had deep brown eyes. She tore her gaze away, and focused for a moment on trying to draw a breath, but when she looked back she found that his gaze had moved to just over her left shoulder. Lily turned her head slightly at Lord Malfoy's quiet hiss and his hand tightened painfully on her elbow. She looked towards the doorway again and saw an expression of anger cross the other mans face, before his eyes moved back to her. She didn't have a chance to question what had just happened, instead finding herself spun around and led further into the room, away from the two men at the door. She could almost feel the brown eyes boring their way into her back, and she was conscious for the first time that night of her hair clasped simply at the base of her neck, wishing instead for something that was more elegant, that showed off the curve of her neck.

Lord Malfoy didn't say anything. Lily glanced up at him briefly and knew best not to question what had happened. He was angry, his expression matching that of the other man, but Lily also noticed that the other man hid his anger a lot better. Lord Malfoys pale cheeks had become stained a blotchy red and he was breathing heavily. His grip on her elbow didn't loosen up until they were much further away.

He stopped walking a few minutes later, and Lily was happy to notice that they were once again near the refreshments table. The band had started up and had already completed two songs, with any luck once the third song had finished Lord Malfoy would request his dance and she would be free for the rest of the evening. At least that was what Lily hoped.

The two of them stood at the edge of the dance floor. Lily didn't make any effort to speak to Lord Malfoy; his attention was elsewhere, though Lily suspected that he too was still thinking about the men at the door, though for very different reasons.

She wasn't silly enough to believe in love at first sight, what her parents had was special, an arranged marriage where they had slowly grown to love each other. She had hoped she'd be lucky and have what they had, but if her grandmother had anything to do about it she wasn't so sure.

On the other hand, Lily had heard enough from the giggling maids at home about lust at first sight. She had read a number of pages of books the maids had, and she felt her own cheeks reddening as she remembered some of the passages. The two men at the door were made for those books, or, some could say, those books had been made for those men.

Lord Malfoy cleared his throat, dragging Lily away from her increasingly embarrassing thoughts.

"I believe this piece is nearly finished." Lily nodded as he continued. "Would you like a drink before we dance?"

"Yes, I'd love one," Lily said. Not only was she glad to have a drink but also anything to get herself away from the awkward position she had found herself in.

Lord Malfoy nodded and moved away to find them both something.

He had only been gone a moment before Lily felt another presence at her elbow. She glanced up curiously and felt her eyes widen in shock.

It was the man from the before.

_Maybe he's lost_, she thought suddenly. He wasn't focusing on her, instead looking out at the swirling men and woman on the dance floor. _Probably just looking for someone else_. She took a moment to have a closer look at him. His clean-shaven jawline, the longest lashes she had ever seen on a man, and she thought she caught a whiff of… something she couldn't place, a musky strong scent that seemed to bring to mind the ocean. She blinked and took a deep breath, turning her gaze to the couples dancing in front of them. She didn't want to look _too_ closely; she was well aware of the looks she was getting from those standing nearby just from being next to him, and Lord Malfoy before that.

She was focusing so much on pretending she hadn't noticed him when he turned she found herself trapped in his gaze. Her green eyes widened in shock.

He nodded his head and she remembered enough of her manners to make a quick curtsy.

"Miss Evans, I believe?"

Lily nodded, not trusting herself to speak around this man.

"You look thirsty, would you like a drink?"

He indicated towards the two drinks he held, something that Lily hadn't noticed in her previous observations.

"I would love one actually, Mr... Uh sorry Lord-" Lily trailed off sheepishly. "I'm afraid I don't know your name."

He handed her one of the glasses and took her other hand in his free one, bending down and bringing it to his lips for a brief kiss.

"James Potter, at your service ma'am." He smiled down at her, and Lily had to admit he had the most charming smile she had ever seem. Something she was sure he was well aware of.

"Thank you for the drink, I've wanted one since I saw them bringing everything out earlier this evening."

"Then I'm glad to have been of assistance. Have you been here very long?"

"Yes, I- that is we've been here for quite awhile now, but the band only just started up when you got here."

Lily gulped. She hadn't meant to say that. She didn't want to draw attention to the fact that she had been one of the many women gaping at his entrance.

_Dammit, stop being so jittery_, she though to herself, mentally shaking herself.

"Ahh, you came here with Lord Malfoy, yes?"

Lily wasn't surprised to find that he knew of Lord Malfoy.

_Well it's obvious they knew each other,_ she thought. _Just as obvious they don't like each other._

Lily shook her head.

"No, I came here with my companion; she's on the other side of the room."

Lily indicated to the far corner.

"And you found yourself stuck instead with that pompous oaf."

Lily choked on the small sip she had taken and Lord Potter chuckled, swallowing the contents of his glass in one gulp, placing the now empty drink into the hands of a nearby servant.

"Uhh..." Lily stammered, not sure how to respond to such a question.

"No, don't answer that, wouldn't want to get you into trouble."

He reached out and took the glass Lily held and, before she could make a sound of protest, handed it to the servant.

"If it's one thing I'm good at, it's reading people." He started saying, looking over her head towards the refreshments table.

Lily frowned slightly and bit back a reply. _If he was that good surely he would have know I wanted that drink_.

"And I know a damsel in distress when I see one, and tonight you, my dear, are that damsel."

"I'm sorry Lord Potter, I..." Lily wasn't sure what was going on. His hand had come around and was lying casually on her waist; she could feel the heat burning itself through the many layers of her dress, traveling its way up her side and coming to rest on her cheeks. If her thoughts before had been inappropriate they were nothing compared to the ones she had now.

"James."

"Sir... No, I- Sorry what?"

"My name's James. Lord Potter is my father."

"Sir, I don't think that would be appropriate."

"Ugh, sir, even worse. I really must insist that you call me James."

He smiled down at her, perhaps not so oblivious to her discomfort and, Lily was startled to notice, standing a lot closer than she recalled.

_When on earth did he get so close_?

Before she could respond further, or so much as move away, another figure appeared on her other side.

"Miss Evans." The voice growled and Lily felt shivers down her spine.

She spun around and saw Lord Malfoy standing a few feet away, holding two glasses.

"Sorry I took so long." He moved closer and handed her a glass. "I'm afraid I ran into an old school _friend_ of mine."

Lily didn't say anything, her hand closing around the glass that he passed her, and feeling very much trapped between a rock and a hard place. She could feel Lord Potter standing close behind her, his hand still on her waist.

"Uhh..." She looked up at the two men on either side of her, glowering over her head at each other. "Lord Malfoy this is Lord P-"

"I know who he is," Lord Malfoy interrupted.

James reached out a comforting hand and placed it on the hand Lily held the glass in, his fingers curling around the stem of the glass.

"Lily, please, I asked you to call me James."

In one swift movement he removed the glass from Lily's grasp, passing it back to Lord Malfoy, whose hand closed over the glass reflexively.

"We were just about to have a dance."

Lily didn't have a chance to so much as stutter a response when she felt a slight pressure on her waist, and found herself led out to the dance floor.

She didn't miss the look of rage that passed over Lord Malfoy's features, and she was conscious of him watching the two of them dance.

_Why do I get the feeling that I'm just a pawn here?_ Lily asked herself as she followed Lord Potters lead and found herself twirling gracefully around the room. She was glad that her mother had insisted on those dance lessons all those years ago; that and Lord Potters arms were the only things that stopped her from tripping over her own feet and humiliating herself on the dance floor.

Lord Potter leaned in closer to whisper in Lily's ear; she could feel his warm breath ruffle the shorter hairs at the nape of her neck, causing a shiver to run down her spine.

"I'm sorry you had to witness that," he said softly. "We're old school friends. Well, he was a few years older than myself, and we most definitely ran in different circles, but I felt it only best to say hello."

"I get the feeling that hello wasn't what he wanted to say to you," she whispered cautiously back. Being so close to Lord Potter was doing funny things to her breathing.

"No, I wouldn't think so. I stole his dance with you, he must be very upset about that."

Lily didn't say anything; there was no denying the rage she had seen on his face as she was dragged out to the dance floor, but she didn't think that had anything to do with her. She shuddered to think what her grandmother was going to say when she got home; and she could guarantee that her grandmother would find out in no time.

"I hope I didn't put you in too much of an awkward position back there, I'm sure he knows I'm only having a laugh."

"No, no that's fine... I just hope he realises that."

"I'll make sure to mention something when we get back."

Lily looked up at him. He was smiling, his brown eyes glittering as he looked around the ballroom. She took a deep breath, preparing to respond when it hit her.

"Oh! The ocean," she gasped.

Lord Potter looked down at her curiously.

"Sorry?"

"You smell like the ocean." Lily blushed, realising how silly that sounded. She couldn't imagine Lord Potter anywhere near the ocean, let alone being there long enough to smell like it.

"Yes, we passed the dock on our way here. Took a bit more of a scenic route than we had intended, which was why we were later than we had intended."

He was looking at her curiously but Lily didn't question him further. She knew that smell; it was a smell she had grown up with. Since she was little she had gone with her father out to the docks, where he and his men designed and built the best ships in England. Ships that the King himself used. The smell Lord Potter had one only got that from being on the ocean for some time.

Lily shook her head; he had his own reasons for lying, they were none of her business.

Lily looked back up at the man who towered above her, and found he was already looking down at her. She could feel her cheeks reddening again when he spoke.

"Has anyone ever told you that you have the most amazing eyes?"

Lily ducked her head and he gave a small chuckle.

"My mother said I got them from her side of the family."

She glanced up again and found he was still looking down at her, a small smile tilting the corners of his lips.

"I imagine any child you have would be lucky to inherit such an amazing colour."

Lily couldn't stop herself from laughing at such an absurd comment.

"You're assuming an awful lot there Lord Potter, none the least that I'll have any children?"

"Ahh, I thought we agreed that it was James, not Lord Potter?"

"I do not recall us agreeing to anything, _Lord_ Potter." Lily raised an eyebrow as he threw his head back and laughed. She couldn't help the small smile that forced its way onto her own lips.

"I promise you that by the end of the season you will be calling me James." His voice had lowered and sounded to Lily almost husky.

"Is that a challenge?"

"I do believe so, Lily Evans. And I don't issue any challenges I have no intention of losing."

Lily ducked her head again to hide the smile that was forcing its way onto her lips.

The two of them continued dancing, Lily carefully following Lord Potter's lead and making sure not to step on his feet. She took the time to enjoy the feel of his hands on her own and around her waist, and in no time at all the song finished and reality came flooding back in. He led her back over to the side where Lord Malfoy was waiting, his face like stone as he watched the two of them walking towards him.

Lord Potter smiled like nothing out of the ordinary had happened but Lily couldn't meet his eyes. If she had felt intimidated before it was nothing compared to how she felt now. The giddiness she had felt when dancing with Lord Potter was long gone by the time they reached the side of the room.

"Sorry about that Malfoy, hope you'll excuse the poor girl. It was my fault, I dragged her out there. Like a pawn in my pocket. I'm sure you wouldn't know anything at all about that, wouldn't you?"

Malfoy took a moment to respond. Lily could see his mouth tighten and a small vein pulsing at his temple.

"It would be best if you looked for your fun elsewhere," Lord Malfoy suggested coldly. "Instead of using other men's future wives."

Lord Potter didn't respond, but Lily could feel his gaze turn toward her as she stared blankly up at Lord Malfoy.

"Whoa-" Lily breathed in sharply but Lord Malfoy continued like she hadn't spoken.

"Maybe these sort of events aren't your style, it would be best to go crawling back to those whores you so often frequent."

Lily stared at the two men. _What had just happened?_ She had sensed that the two men didn't like each other, but this was different. It was almost like they hated each other.

Lord Potter's face was grim, and his hand he held over hers at the crook of his arm was firm and, Lily felt, almost a comfort.

"I'm afraid I wasn't aware of your betrothal, so let me be the first to congratulate you."

He bowed his head.

"But it would seem that I wasn't the only one unaware."

Lily looked at him blankly but his expression was unreadable. She looked at him for a moment then gasped as Lord Malfoys meaning hit her.

"Better she find out now, she'll have more time to get used to the idea."

Lily couldn't breath, now that she realised what they were talking about. Lord Malfoy seemed to be speaking but she was still focused on what he had said before; she was to marry him.

_No, he must be wrong_, she thought. _All grandmother wanted me to do was dance with him, surely she wouldn't make me marry him_.

As much as Lily wished that was true she knew otherwise; her grandmother was very keen to see her married off, and Lord Malfoy was better than she could have hoped for. He was rich, handsome and charming. But it wasn't what she wanted. He was cold, and she had only ever felt fear around this man.

_But what was he getting out of this match?_ She thought suddenly. She by far wasn't the best match he could have got, there had to be something else.

Lord Potter's gentle squeeze of her hand caught her attention and dragged her to the present.

"I'm afraid this is where I must leave you Lily."

He clasped her hand and brought it up briefly to meet his lips. Even the warmth from his kiss couldn't warm up her hand.

He looked at her gravely and slowly let go of her hand.

"It was a pleasure to meet you. I'm not lying when I say I hope we meet again."

With one brief bow in her direction he disappeared into the crowd.

Neither Lily nor Lord Malfoy said anything for a moment, staring instead at where Lord Potter had disappeared.

"Well, now you know."

Lily looked up at the tall and imposing man behind her, with his long pale blonde hair and thin lips, and felt as though all the fires in the world wouldn't be able to make her feel any warmth.

"No, I don't understand." Her thoughts were all a jumble and she wasn't sure where to begin. "Why would I marry you? We don't even like each other..."

She felt her voice trailing off lamely as she watched Lord Malfoy's lips tighten and disappear completely, and he leaned in closer so she would be the only one to hear what he had to say.

"People more important that either of us has ordered it. You have no choice in the matter. We will be married before the end of this season."

Lily gasped, his grasp on her elbow tightened. She was briefly reminded of a promise made by another early that evening.

"Now don't make a scene, one we get this dance out of the way I can leave and you can go crying to your grandmother about the unfairness of the situation. Just don't expect any sympathy there; who do you think was the one to suggest the idea?"

Even though the piece was already halfway through Lord Malfoy led a shocked Lily back out onto the dance floor. But this time was different. Lily felt like she had turned to stone; the candles that lit the room were still as bright as ever but the shadows seemed taller. The dresses were still as grand, but Lily thought they had never seemed tackier.

The world was the same, but for the first time Lily felt like hers was crumbling.

Her dance with Lord Malfoy passed in a blur, and a few minutes later Lily found herself deposited back at Mrs. Bones table.

With a small bow and a promise to come by tomorrow, Lord Malfoy was gone.

Lily turned to where Mrs. Bones sat, in a heated discussion with Miss Figg over the merits of marriage, and knew she had to go home.

She interrupted and apologised profusely to Miss Figg, who would have none of it.

"You look pale," she told Lily. "Go home and get some rest. I'm sure you had more than enough excitement for the night."

Lily didn't say anything, not until after when they had collected their coats and were safely enclosed in their carriage for the night.

"What's wrong?" Mrs. Bones asked, looking concerned. "What happened? I saw you leave with Lord Malfoy, then I thought I saw you dancing with Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome, then Lord Malfoy dropped you back at the table."

"I don't even know where to begin," Lily murmured. She was calmer now, her thoughts not as scattered. She was going to have to plan it quickly, to get away from here as soon as possible. Tonight even. She wasn't about to wait around like a goat being led to the slaughter, she would do something, she just wasn't sure what.

She told Mrs. Bones about her plan to walk around the room, bumping into Lord Malfoy and then witnessing Lord Potter and his friends' entrance.

"Lord Black," Mrs. Bones stated.

"Sorry?"

"His friend, his name is Sirius Black."

Lily paused in her account of the evening.

"Oh... right. Home come you know the family?"

Mrs. Bones shook her head and cleared her throat.

"He came up to us while I was still talking to Miss Figg, came over to say hello. I haven't seen him in years, but I'd know him anywhere. I knew him from when he was just a little child. His family is a bad one, supporters of that man who wants the crown. But he was always different. Didn't believe what they said."

Lily didn't say anything, the name had rung a bell, but there were so many rumours floating around about which man families supported. Rumours, lies and deceit were the flavour of the day.

"I'll tell you the rest later, first finish your story," Mrs. Bones said. Lily continued on.

"Lord Potter came up to me after, when Lord Malfoy went to get us a drink, and I somehow ended up dancing with him."

A small smile formed on Mrs. Bones lips and Lily jumped in before she could say anything.

"No, no don't go thinking anything of it. It was like he only chose me because I was with Lord Malfoy. I don't know, they didn't seem to like each other and Lord Potter seemed to be going out of his way to annoy Lord Malfoy."

"Poor Lord Malfoy," Mrs. Bones murmured, but Lily knew she didn't mean it. Mrs. Bones had told her some of the stories she'd heard from women who had worked at his house, none of them good.

Lily was also careful not to mention what she and Lord Potter had talked about while they had danced.

"When we got back," Lily continued. "Lord Malfoy, he uh, he said 'it would be best if Lord Potter had his fun with others women, not his future wife'."

The stared at each other across the carriage, Lily could tell her companion was at a loss for words.

"Surely he didn't mean you?"

"No, he said after it would be better I find out sooner rather than later." Lily shook her head. "Grandmother knew about this, he implied that she herself had suggested it. She set this up. And he's going to be coming by to finalise the details tomorrow."

"No, your parents would never agree to this."

"But that's just it, even though I'm sure they're alive, officially they're dead. And with Robert gone, I'm the only heir left, so grandmother would love to marry me off. But maybe that's it? Lord Malfoy's family has long been close friends to grandmothers husband, the only thing to gain from this marriage is fathers business. What if it's the shipping yard that they're after?"

"But why?"

Lily paused for a moment.

"What I mean," she continued. She was sitting on the edge of her seat, biting the nail on her thumb thoughtfully. "Is that Lord Malfoy is already wealthy, his father set him up for life. What on earth would he want with a shipping company? Sure they make great ships, but it's a lot of hard work for not that much money."

Lily slumped back into her seat and stared out the window.

"I don't know... It sounds silly, but I can't think of any other reason."

Neither girl said anything for the rest of the trip, each lost in her own thoughts from the events of the evening. A few minutes later they had pulled up in front of Lily's parents house.

She could see her grandmother already standing in the open doorway.

Mrs. Bones gave Lily's hand a quick squeeze as she got out and walked up the path to meet her grandmother.

* * *

_Quick note to say this was going to be SB/OC but I didn't __like it, so changed to JP/LE._


	3. Chapter 3

The King of Pirates

~ Chapter Three ~

**Disclaimer: **Storyline is mine, all the characters you recognise belong to JK Rowling.

* * *

The Marauders are the best spies in England. It's up to them to find and catch the self-proclaimed King of Pirates; the man looking to overthrow the crown and take it for himself.

* * *

Lily stared across the room at her grandmother, a look of revulsion on her face. She stood in the centre of the room while her grandmother sat at her fathers favourite desk. She didn't think she'd ever felt so angry before.

When she had gotten home earlier, she knew the moment she had seen her grandmother waiting for her at the door there would be a number of things they would need to work out, but she hadn't realised the extent to which her grandmother had gone to get what she wanted.

"Grandmother, I don't care what you say, I will not marry Lord Malfoy."

She had tried speaking calmly, rationally but nothing she said seemed to get through to her grandmother. She countered every argument Lily could come up with; she was getting old, she needed to start a family, her parents should have done their job and had her married off years ago, if she didn't step in nothing would happen, she would become spinster.

Her grandmother hadn't been too pleased with Lily's response to _that_ particular reason.

Her grandmother opened her mouth to continue but Lily jumped in before she had a chance.

"Nothing you do or say will convince me to marry this man. He's horrible, rude, and arrogant. I could never love him."

Lily's voice cracked on the last word and she stopped, breathing hard. She was never good with arguments. She always got too emotional, and she knew that crying now would do nothing but show her grandmother how weak she was. She took a few deep breaths to gain control of her emotions. Throughout the argument she had tried as hard as she could to stress this fact to her grandmother, how important it was that she had to at least see the possibility that she could love the man she would marry, to respect him.

Her grandmother sat silently at her fathers desk across the room. For a moment Lily felt hope that was she was saying was getting through.

"Nothing I say or do?" She said softly, standing up slowly and coming around the desk towards Lily.

Her heart plummeted and she couldn't stop the shiver of fear that made its way down her back. The look in her grandmothers eyes reminded her of the same look Lord Malfoy had when Lord Potter had escorted her off the dance floor: fury.

"You think that the ideals of some little girl is going to stop me?" She was whispering, crossing the room slowly and silently. "You don't understand what you're up against here. Too many people are behind this marriage for me to put a stop to this even if I wanted to. But it's high time that you learnt that little girls don't always get what they want. You won't get the knight in shining armour, riding over the hills on his while stallion to save you from the dreaded monster. There's no one else out there to save you; your parents are dead, your cousin probably is too. Your sister and I are the last people alive who you are related too, and if I have to have you bound and gagged and dragged up that aisle you _will_ marry that man. Your sister won't raise a finger to help you, and you will not humiliate me by turning this man down. If you do you will pay dearly for it."

Her grandmother had stopped in front of her. She too was breathing heavily, her nostrils flaring. Lily could feel little drops of spit hit her face and had to resist the urge to wipe them away.

"Already you have humiliated me, dancing with that man, Lord Potter." She spat the name in disgust. "You should have known not to dance with him."

Lily flinched, something that didn't go unnoticed by her grandmother. She started laughing, her voice high and brittle.

"Oh, so you thought that he wanted to dance with you because he thought you were beautiful. Men like him don't go for girls like you. Lord Malfoy knows him from his school years, but he and Lord Potter believe in two different things. Lord Potter, at the end of this, will be knocked off the high horse he and his family have placed themselves on and know true desperation.

Her grandmother paused, seeming to enjoy the look of horror and devastation on her granddaughters face.

"Tomorrow, you are going to come downstairs for breakfast in your best dress. Lord Malfoy will come by at 11 o'clock and you two will become officially engaged. We will start planning the wedding and you will be married before the season has ended. All you need to do is turn up, and if it's the last thing I do I will make sure you turn up."

Her grandmother gave her one last look and left the room. The door clicked softly as she left, leaving Lily to stare at her fathers desk remembering a time just one month ago, sitting in here with her family having breakfast. They had surprised her father because it was his birthday and he had been cooped up in the room working on paperwork all weekend. Everywhere she looked she was reminded of little moments like these, and these little moments also cemented her decision.

She would leave.

Talking hadn't gotten through to her grandmother, and since she had no intention of going through with the marriage, disappearing was the only option she had at that stage.

She also wasn't too bothered about the humiliation her grandmother would suffer.

_Ok,_ she thought, trying to sort out her jumbled thoughts. _What will I need? Clothes, money, food would be the most important things._

She waited for a moment, listening carefully to the footsteps outside the room fading away and walked over to her fathers desk, smiling as she crawled under it. Her grandmother didn't know about the hidden compartment under the desk. She herself had only found out about it a few months ago when her father showed her, telling her it was for emergencies in case anything happened to him and her mother.

_I think this would most definitely count as an emergency_, she thought, biting her lip and feeling around under the desk for the notch that opened the compartment.

With a click a small piece of wood popped out from the desk and inside she found a small amount of money, which she quickly gathered into a little pouch she made out of her handkerchief. Clearing out the rest of the compartment she pushed the little wooden piece back into the desk and left the room.

She could hear her grandmother again now, down the back of the house ordering the servants around to prepare for their guest tomorrow.

She wouldn't have much time. She knew she would have to leave before her grandmother went to bed. Once she was in bed no one would dare make a sound so as to not risk her grandmothers wrath.

Lily hurried upstairs, her pouch of money gripped tightly in her hand in case it made a sound.

She didn't want her grandmother catching onto what she was going to do. She was sure her grandmother already suspected that she would try something and would do anything to prevent her granddaughter from humiliating her.

As she reached the top of the stairs she went to turn left, to enter her own room but something caught her eye. She stared at the door across from her own, at the door of the room her younger cousin had been using.

Her cousin was four years younger than her, and had been staying with Lily's family after his parent had died from pneumonia earlier that year. While he had always been quite small, in the last few months he had grown so much that he was nearly taller than her, and he had slowly begin filling out, turning more into a man than a scrawny boy. In fact her mother had always joked at they had reached the stage where they could share each other's clothes.

The two of them had always reacted in disgust but Lily realised that this could work in her favour.

She hadn't quite figured out what she would do when she left, where she'd go or who she could ask for help finding her cousin and her parents. She only knew that she would have to go into hiding until she figured all that out.

_What better way than to pretend to be a boy,_ she thought. She was small, and even with her slight curves she could pass as a young boy. The only problem would be her hair and her voice, but if she had people believing she was a young boy she might be able to convince them that she had not yet gained a deeper voice.

Just as she reached out a hand to grasp the door-handle leading to her cousins room she heard her grandmothers voice getting louder. Worried that she might catch her, Lily pushed the door open and closed it as quietly as she could behind her, wincing at the loud click the door made as she swung it shut.

She could hear her grandmothers feet padding softly up the stairs, and she slowly backed away from the door. Because the room was dark, Lily didn't see the pile of boxes full of her cousins things before it was too late. Lily backed into them with enough force to send the top three boxes crashing to the ground before tripping over and landing painfully on top of them.

"Shit," Lily groaned, rolling over and off the pile of boxes, her hand rubbing the spot where she had landed on the corner of one box. "Damn, what the hell are these doing in here?"

In the darkness she couldn't make out what had fallen out of the boxes. She was so focused on the pain in her side and getting away from the boxes, in case she knocked anything else down, when she looked up she saw a shadow appear and pause outside the door.

Lily felt like her heart stopped, this wasn't something she wanted too explain to her grandmother. Pushing herself up off the ground, wincing as she straightened up, she hurried to the outline she could make out of her cousins bed.

The door-handle rattled slightly as it was turned slowly and Lily lunged across the rest of the room and rolled under the bed. Lying on her stomach on the floor she saw the room become lighter.

Lily waited, frozen in fear and holding her breath, as she looked out from under the bed. She watched as a shadow appeared across the floor and a pair of feet paused at the entrance, moving slowly into the room. She pushed herself further under the bed, away from the light that was peaking through the sheets that hung off the side of the bed.

The person stopped at the fallen boxes, pushing aside some clothing that had fallen out, before moving further into the room and pausing by the side of the bed. Lily couldn't see anything past the outline of her grandmothers feet, and was so worried that about being found out she didn't dare move an inch.

Lily heard the rustling of fabric and sensed more than saw the person bending down, the sheet in front of her face being brushed aside.

But it did not go any further.

A crash sounded from the kitchen and the twitching sheets stilled. Her grandmother swore softly and pushed herself back up, leaving the room and slamming the door behind her.

Lily crawled awkwardly out from under the bed, having difficulty moving her legs around in her full skirt. She straightened up, using the bed as leverage and pulled herself the rest of the way out from under the bed before moving quickly back to the door. She paused only to pick up a small armful of clothes that lay sprawled across the floor.

She waited at the closed door, pressing her ear against it and, not hearing anything on the other side, slipped out of the room and into the relative safety of her own.

She moved swiftly, grabbing a small fabric bag to hold the money she got from her fathers desk and some spare clothes. She would have to leave soon, get as far away from here as she possibly could before her grandmother raised the alarm and others began looking for her. She don't want to make it any easier for them, and this whole exercise would be pointless if they dragged her back here in a weeks time and she haven't even left the city.

There may have been plenty of places she could hide and not have to pretend to be a man, but she knew it would also be easier to move when others knew less about her than needed. But where she was planning on going, being a man is the only way she could stay there.

Lily walked over to the pile of clothes and started sorting through them, grabbing enough shirts and pants that she thought would fit herself and keep a few as spare.

She had heard the rumours from her fathers workers, the rumours about Lord Malfoy's connections. Some said that he supports the pirate that fights to overthrow the crown, that his father has pirates working for him to help get rid of those who gets in his sons way. Lily couldn't shake the possibility that if her grandmother was so insistent on her marrying Lord Malfoy, and with her grandmothers' husbands close ties to Lord Malfoy's father, what's to say she didn't use his connections to get rid of her cousin. Richard had been the last person in line to inherit her fathers business.

A business that supplied much needed ships to the King himself.

A few minutes later there was a knock at the door and Lily looked up from where she sat on the edge of her bed as her grandmother let herself in the room without waiting for a response, carrying a small tray of bread and cheese.

Lily knew her grandmother would come by again that night to make sure Lily knew her place, so she had hidden her bag under the bed so that she would be ready to leave as soon as her grandmother had left the room.

The only problem she had come across was getting out of the ball gown she wore. She had already combed her soft red hair and pinned it back behind her head. The clothes she was going to wear that night were hidden under the blanket on her bed.

"Grandmother," she said coldly, and stood up to face the window.

Her grandmother didn't say anything at first, placing the food tray on the dressing table and beginning to undo the buttons on Lily's dress, before then unlacing the corset. Lily gave a small sigh as she found she could breath again.

She turned back to face her grandmother and the two watched each other emotionlessly. Lily was careful to hide her anger at her grandmother in case she sensed that Lily was up to something and became more suspicious. Her grandmother looked back at her just as watchfully and pursed her lips.

"Don't bother hiding anything," she said softly. "I know you're up to something."

Lily didn't respond. _She's just fishing_, she thought, _she knows you're going to do something, but she isn't sure what_.

Frustration showed briefly on her grandmothers face.

"If you think even for a second that you can go up against me, think again. If I can get rid of that weak little cousin of yours, I can get rid of you."

Lily was barely able to stop her mouth from falling open.

"So you did have something to do with Richards disappearance," she cried.

Her grandmother snorted.

"Of course. With your parents out the way, he was the only one left to dispose of. I imagine he didn't last very long with the men I left him with." She smiled cruelly. "Don't think for a second you have anyone on your side anymore. In the end you'll be glad I've done what I had to. Don't fight what has already been decided and you will come out of this better than anyone else."

"Never will I not fight," she told her grandmother. "If you make me marry that man, never will I forgive you, or forget what you made me do."

Lily could feel herself shaking from the anger that was building up inside her. She held her hands clenched at her side, her hands balled into fists and her nails digging into her palms.

Her grandmother smiled and lifted her hand to place it softly against her granddaughters cheek. Lily didn't have time to react as her grandmother pulled back her hand and swung it across her granddaughters face.

The cracking sound of the slap echoed around the room. Pain exploded across Lily's cheek on impact, but she made sure to hold her ground, staring her grandmother in the eye, doing her best to not show her weakness. Neither wanted to be the first to back down, but Lily could feel tears welling up in her eyes from the pain and quickly looked away.

Her grandmother laughed, the sound shrill and demented to Lily's ears, and left the room.

The door clicked shut behind her and Lily heard the unmistakable sound of a lock clicking in place.

A sob burst unwilling from Lily as she looked at her reflection in the mirror. A red mark, the exact same size and shape of her grandmothers hand stood out on her cheek against her pale white skin. The colour of her hair seemed to match that of the mark on her cheek.

If anything, her grandmothers actions cemented Lily's resolve.

Wiping the back of her hand across her face to get rid of the tears, she threw back the bed covers and changed into her cousins clothes, before putting her cousins hat on and making sure to shove all her hair up under the cap. She grabbed the bag out from under the bed, the food off the tray and hurried to her window.

Wasting no time, she climbed out the window and perched for a brief moment on the sill, before carefully sliding down to grab the wooden trellis that her father used to grow vines up the side of the house. She used to do this years before when she had been younger and wanted to play with the other neighbourhood children, not cooped up inside with the tutor her parents had hired, but she hadn't done it for years and for a second Lily's gut clenched at what she was about to do.

Living in the city, when space was a precious commodity, many families were lucky if they had even the smallest garden, so while Lily's parents were far from the rich that frequented the balls that evening, they were still well off enough to live in a place with a small garden attached to the side of the house.

Lily took a deep calming breath and began climbing down the trellis. It only took her a moment to reach a safe enough height where she was able to jump the rest of the way down, as climbing in a pair of pants was a whole lot easier than in a dress.

She was startled when a light was turned on behind her and threw herself to the side so as to not be seen. She forced herself to breath normally when she realised the light was coming from the open window nearest the gate leading from the garden.

A window Lily would have to get past to get out of the garden.

Moving closer she peered inside and she realised her grandmother was in there with a number of men she didn't recognize, and another woman. Her grandmother was talking quickly to the men and Lily paused long enough to look at them all.

The woman stood on the far side of the room with one of the men. She had long curly black hair that didn't look as though it was regularly brushed, and wore a full dress that was also different shades of black. If it weren't for her pale, almost translucent skin and the fact that she kept laughing for apparently no reason, Lily would have almost missed her.

The man she stood with looked just as wild as she did, with big broad shoulders and hair that Lily could easily imagine covered his entire body, if his face was anything to go by.

The last man stood by the crackling fireplace with his back to the window, and when he spoke Lily thought he sounded almost like a snake. The colour of the firelight seemed to reflect in his own pale skin.

Not wanting to waste any more time, and worried that these people would leave and see her as she made her escape, Lily crouched down and crawled across the grass under the window. She had only made it halfway when the voice of the snake sounding man seemed to get louder.

Her heart beating loudly in her chest, which Lily thought for sure everyone would be able to hear, she froze and didn't dare look up in case she caught his attention.

But the man kept speaking, and soon the voice receded. Lily didn't waste another moment, crawling the rest of the way before jumping up and running across the rest of the garden and out the gate, careful to stay in the shadows cast by the moonlight.

She ran through the streets, not looking back, stopping only when she was out of breath and the smell of the ocean was strong enough that she knew she wasn't far away.

Lily, with her father in the business of building ships, had been to the major shipping port in London more times than she could remember. Because of this though, she also knew which part of the port was more unsavory than the rest, and while at night the whole port would be questionable one in particular area she could remember her father pointing out many times warning her to never go there.

"_That is where the pirates, and anyone doing something illegal, usually dock," he had warned when she'd asked why he never went over there. "No honest man would go over there when other honest men were looking."_

And that was exactly where Lily intended to go.

Lily reached the port a few minutes later, having ducked past the office of her fathers business and kept her head down incase anyone was to recognise her, she was now peaking around the corner of a small building that sat off to one side of the port that only 'unsavory types' ever went. At this time of night the whole area was buzzing as men loaded and unloaded cargo from the dozens of ships moored there.

A shout from the far side caught her attention and she watched as men scattered as a rope attached to a huge box snapped, causing the box to fall over 50ft down to the wooden dock below. Lily could hear angry shouting from one of the men on the ship, and answering shouts from other men as they worked out who was to blame for the accident.

Lily took a deep breath and focused back on the ship docked not far from the small building she hid behind.

She had been watching the ship for the last few minutes trying to tell if it was a pirate ship. One thing her father had never been able to tell her was what a pirate and pirate ship looked like. All he had said was that she was unlikely to ever need to know, and the pirates were unlikely to advertise what they were in a port like this.

"_I really wish I'd asked more questions_," Lily grumbled to herself.

The men hanging around this ship, having finished preparing it to leave the port now seemed just to be waiting for something, or someone. She couldn't tell for sure, but they seemed to match her idea of pirates better than anyone else there. And they didn't look _too_ rough either…

Moving back into the shadows, Lily took a deep breath to calm her nerves and squared her shoulders, and forced herself to leave the shadows of the building to march towards the rowdy men. She walked along the dock and clenched her fists to keep them from shaking, and stopped as she reached the gangplank leading up to the ship.

The men on board didn't notice her at first and she ducked out the way as a bottle of ale came flying over the ships rail.

She cleared her throat to try to get someone's attention but it was lost as a roar of laughter went through the ship and a splash on the far side indicated that someone had gotten a bit too tipsy.

"Excuse me," Lily called out then, thinking maybe that wasn't something a man would say, tried again. "Oi!"

Still nothing and Lily was about to start walking up the gangplank when a large hand clamped down on her shoulder and pulled her out of the way of a couple of men carrying large boxes of what smelled like food. They clambered up the gangplank and disappeared over the side.

Lily looked up at the giant of a man who towered over her and felt her breath catch in her throat. The man was nearly twice as tall as her, she couldn't tell for sure but he had to be at least 8ft tall. His face was mostly hidden behind a mop of long coarse curly hair and a beard that reached his chest. His hand was as big as her head.

She nearly jumped out of her skin when he spoke, his voice deep and friendly.

"Watch yeh head lass," he boomed. "One good knock an' yeh'd end up in the drink."

Lily nodded but didn't say anything. She wasn't sure what to say at this stage and stepped back a bit further as more men came along the dock and up to the ship. She could see four more men standing at the end of the dock, who appeared to be arguing amongst themselves over something.

"Wha' did yeh want?" The giant boomed again, catching Lily's attention again. "No' lost are yeh?"

"Uh, n-no." Lily was angry with herself for stuttering and forced herself to continue. "I wanted to join yeh… I mean your crew."

"Wha' was tha' lass?"

"Hagrid," someone from the ship shouted. "Where'd you get too?"

A couple of people appeared at the rails and looked down at Lily and the giant, who she assumed to be Hagrid.

"I'm helpin' this boy here, he's lost." Hagrid was patting Lily on the head this time and she hunched her shoulder to try to get away.

"No, I'm not lost," she said but the pirates continued on as thought she hadn't spoken. _Well to be fair,_ she thought, _they probably hadn't_ _heard me_.

"He's lost? Where does he want to go?"

"No, stop I…" She stopped as she was cut off again.

"I dun know, I hadn' asked him."

"Well ask him then." More men had come to the ships rails,

"I wanted to join your crew," she finally shouted, pushing Hagrids hand off her head.

The men stopped laughing and an awkward silence seemed to settle over the ship.

"Ahh, well yeh see, yeh'd have to ask the capt'n tha'," Hagrid said, and before she could respond he pulled her around to where the men who had been arguing earlier now stood.

Lily's voice caught in her throat as she looked at the two men in the lead. They were both tall, though one was clearly taller than the other. The shorter of the two had long silky black hair and grey eyes. He wore black breeches and black books, with an oversized white shirt tucked into his pants.

But it was the taller of the two men who captured Lily's attention and it was all she could do to stop her mouth from dropping open in shock. Lord James Potter stood in front of her, wearing black breeches, large black boots, a white shirt, over which he wore a fitted grey coat.

Unmistakably a pirate. Unmistakable the man she had only met earlier that evening.

"What's this about joining our crew?" James looked down at the, very, small man who stood quivering in front of him. The small boy wore clothes that were obviously too large for him, and which would not fit in on a pirate ship. He wore a dark brown hat, from which he could see wisps of red hair poking out from under. He stared at the smaller man, feeling almost a sense of déjà vu but he couldn't pinpoint exactly why.

"I want to join your crew," Lily said again. She shook her head to try to clear the confusion she had at seeing James Potter as a pirate. She couldn't understand how the man she had spoken too only earlier that evening could be standing here in front of her as though he belonged here.

"Only for a short while, you understand," she continued before he could say anything. "I'm looking for someone."

"We don't just let anyone and everyone board this ship," James growled suspiciously. Having been on the seas for nearly six months now, and having worked as a spy for nearly four years before that, he knew when someone was hiding something, and he sensed the little boy in front of him was definitely hiding something. He wouldn't put it past the man whom they hunted to plant a spy of his own in his enemy's crew. "I can't have a crew member who is more focused on looking for someone than on the job at hand."

"I'll do everything I can to help around the ship…" Lily began.

A shout of laughter came from the crew leaning over the rails, though none as loud as the one from the giant beside her.

"Yeh don' look like yeh could lift a sack o' flour lass," Hagrid howled, wiping a tear of laughter from the corner of his eye.

Lily felt her anger rising and feel her cheeks warming up in response to their laughter.

"All I need is a way to get to other ports," she snapped at the men.

"Then pay for passage like normal folk," James said dismissively.

Lily narrowed her eyes at the taller man as he brushed past her towards the ship. She got a whiff of the musky smell she had smelt on him earlier.

"I don't know exactly where the person I'm looking for is, but I know he wouldn't be with those 'normal folk'. He's with a crew like you lot."

James looked back at Lily from his point half way up the gangplank.

"There are plenty of pirate crews out there, what makes you think joining up with us will get you to where you need to go?"

Lily lifted her chin defiantly to look up at him.

"It's all I have at the moment to go on."

* * *

Lily's grandmother looked up from the small cup of tea she was drinking from as her granddaughters maid reappeared on the dining room doorway.

Her lips thinned when she saw that her granddaughter was not with her.

"Where is she?" She snapped to the maid.

The maid flinched.

"She's not there ma'am…"

"What do you mean 'she's not there'? Of course she's there, where else could she be."

"No ma'am, the room is empty. The door was locked like you said but the window was left open."

She looked at the maid in horror and her teacup slipped unnoticed from her fingers and shattered on the wooden table below.

"No…" She whispered. She had locked the door specifically so that Lily wouldn't be able to do anything. She didn't think Lily would go so far as to climb out her bedroom window.

A knock came from the front door and the family butler was quick to usher the expected guest into the guest room.

"Clean that up," she ordered the maid.

She thought quickly, deciding what to do but knowing that the only way at that stage to find her granddaughter and bring her back to where she belonged was to tell the truth.

_You brought this on yourself you stupid girl_, she thought grimly.


End file.
